Magic Wands and Roadblocks

Here’s the good news you’ve been waiting for. You have a Magic Wand, and when you wave it you can have anything you truly want.

Do you dream about winning the lottery? You’ve got it. Now what? The luxury cars and magnificent life-styles are nice, but what lottery winners relish most is the financial security that winning affords them.

With a little planning and discipline, financial security is within your reach. You don’t need the lottery – regular saving and smart investing can help you achieve your goals. That’s your Magic Wand.

What do you really want? Make a list of the financial goals that are important to you. Be as specific as you can. And don’t worry if your goals seem too large to be within reach.

If you are tempted to say “I’d like to, but …” here is some advice: Get your “but” out of the way! Decide what you really want, and through realistic objectives and solid planning, you will get what you want.

Every time you say “I wish I had ____” write it down.

If you come home and the house is a mess, wish for the money for a maid service, then write it down.

See an ad for a cruise vacation that appeals to you? Add it to the list.

Once you’ve captured the rhythm of goal-setting, this exercise is fun and can become addictive.

By now you may be thinking “I’ll never have enough money to do all of these things.” This exercise isn’t about deciding how you are going to get everything you want; it’s to determine what you want.

When athletes can’t imagine themselves winning the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Masters Tournament, and so on, they sometimes “choke” and don’t perform well. Don’t choke as you are making this list. Compile of all your financial goals, realistic or not.

The only limits are that you can’t accomplish simultaneously two goals that are mutually exclusive, and you can’t accomplish the impossible.

For instance, if you would like to become president of the company for which you work, but you also would like to work part time, those two goals cannot be accomplished simultaneously.

They could be sequential, though: You can work very hard now and climb the career ladder to presidency, then opt for early retirement and become a consultant.

Conversely, you could work part time now and then, when you are ready, begin climbing the corporate letter.

Some goals may seem unrealistic and unattainable, but before you cross them off your list, consider the Roadblock Rule:You will never get anywhere if you let roadblocks define or limit your goals.

If there is something you really want, leave it on your list, no matter how unattainable it seems. If you really want it, your imperative of purpose will take over, and you can figure out how to get it.

If you commit yourself to a certain path, the dynamics of that commitment will propel you to accomplishment. It won’t be easy, and you might decide at some point to stop pursuing that goal.

That won’t be a failure to meet your goals, just a revision in what you want.

As you travel the road to financial security, expect your goals to change and rearrange themselves.

What is important to you now may seem less so when you have a larger nest egg. And what seems unimportant now may become more important as your wealth grows.